Home Blog Page 2101

Federal Government approves paternity leave for government workers

0

The entitlement to 14 days of paternity leave for male governmental workers has been authorized by the federal government.

Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Federation’s Head of Service, made the announcement today while briefing State House media following a virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

This, she explained, is to allow for healthy bonding between a father and a newborn kid, whether natural-born or adopted, especially during the early stages of the child’s life.

Mrs. Yemi-Esan said that dads of adopted children under the age of four months will benefit from the gesture authorized for government employees.

Details will be provided later…

As Buhari is absent from public for the fourth day, Osinbajo preside over the FEC meeting

0

The meeting is being presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, has not made a public appearance since his aides announced his departure from New York, where he had attended the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Buhari “returned” on September 26, 2021, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, but no photographs of the President arriving at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja were posted on social media by his media handlers, as has been the norm.

Rather, his last public photographs were posted on Saturday, September 25, by social media aide Buhari Sallau via his Facebook page, announcing the President’s departure “for Abuja.”

Read also: NYSC’s kidnap-for-ransom advice shows that the Buhari regime is incapable of protecting lives, according to the Minority Leader

Except for a report by the government-owned News Agency of Nigeria titled ‘UNGA-76: Buhari returns with special assignment from World body,’ there has been no statement from the Presidency regarding the retired General’s return to the country.

Meanwhile, his aides have continued to post congratulatory messages and birthday wishes on the President’s behalf, as well as the activities of members of his cabinet, such as Federal Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, among others.

Lagos bus driver is in court for attempting to rape a girl

0

Mufutau Kodri, a 22-year-old bus conductor, was docked in a Badagry Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State on Wednesday for allegedly attempting to rape an 18-year-old girl.

Mr Kodri, whose address is unknown, is accused of attempted rape and breach of the peace.

The prosecutor, ASP Akpan Ikem, told the court that the defendant committed the crime on September 25, around 7 p.m., at Marine GRA, Badagry, Lagos State.

Read also: Wike and the PDP celebrate the defection of Rivers APC stalwarts.

The defendant, he claimed, dragged the girl into a nearby bush and attempted to rape her.

According to the prosecutor, the defendant acted in a way that was likely to cause a breach of the peace.

He claimed that the offense violated sections 262 and 168 of the Lagos State Criminal Laws of 2015.

Magistrate Patrick Adekomaiya granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in the same amount.

Mr Adekomaiya stated that the sureties must be residents of the Court’s jurisdiction and provide proof of tax payments to the Lagos State government.

The case was adjourned by the Magistrate until October 25 for further consideration.

Gombe State saves over N57 million as a result of its biometric staff attendance program

0

The Gombe State Government in Northern Nigeria claims to have saved 57.68 million Naira from civil servant suspensions in September by implementing the State Integrated Payroll Payment Gateway and Human Resource Management Information System Programme.

In a press conference in Gombe in September 2021, the Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Muhammad Magaji, stated that the total number of staff suspended and those to be investigated was 901, with salaries totaling 77 million 340 thousand 484 naira 19 kobo.

He stated that 170 of them, with salaries of 19.66 million Naira, would be investigated, but that their salaries for September would be paid to them.

Read also: Wike and the PDP celebrate the defection of Rivers APC stalwarts.

According to him, civil servants who had previously been suspended but had presented their complaints and proof that they had been wrongfully suspended had their issues resolved and reabsorbed into the system.

According to the Gombe State Commissioner of Finance, the government has completed biometric enrolment in ten of the state’s eleven local government areas, with Funakaye Local Government Staff now being enrolled.

He stated that after the Funakaye enrolment was completed, the government would hold a mop-up enrolment to allow those who had not yet enrolled to do so; otherwise, enrolment would be closed and those who had not yet enrolled would have to wait until the Gombe State Civil Service decided to hire new staff.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Gombe State Civil Service, Mr Bappayo Yahaya, has advised civil servants to adhere to the system’s set guidelines by reporting on duty on time and closing at the specified time to avoid being negatively affected by the government’s strict measures.

Mr. Bappayo stated that the Biometric Attendance System was here to stay because a team from the company in charge of the supply and installation of the biometric machines was in the process of checking the condition of the machines and, if necessary, taking note of faults and improving on them for improved service delivery.

Read also: Breaking: El-rufai shut down Telecommunications in Kadun

It will be remembered that the Gombe State Government implemented the Biometric Attendance Programme in order to checkmate the excesses of the state’s civil servants, some of whom enjoy abandoning their duties posts or not even appearing at all, but always collecting salaries at the end of the month.

The initiative, according to the government, will ensure that governments at both the state and local levels take stock of civil servants through the installed machines, which register staff daily, verify their fingerprints and facial descriptions, and finally authenticate their attendance.

According to the government, the goal of the biometric attendance program is to reduce and eventually eliminate payroll fraud.

NYSC’s kidnap-for-ransom advice shows that the Buhari regime is incapable of protecting lives, according to the Minority Leader

0

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, believes the advisory in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) pamphlet demonstrates President Muhammadu Buhari’s inability to provide security on Nigeria’s highways.

The NYSC security tips included a ransom payment, which prompted the parliament to launch an investigation.

This followed the passage of a motion by Mr Elumelu on the House floor on Tuesday in Abuja.

Picture evidence of a provision under section 65(e) of the NYSC security tips pamphlet had surfaced, according to reports.

Read also: Breaking: Orji Uzor Kalu demolishes the EFCC, and the court orders a retrial

The section advised corps members to notify their families in case they are kidnapped on the road.

Mr Elumelu, who was disturbed by the kidnap warning in the NYSC pamphlet, observed that the government appeared to have surrendered to kidnappers and bandits.

As a result, the House decided to charge the Committee on Youth Development with investigating the inclusion of item 65(e) in the NYSC Security Awareness and Education Handbook.

Wike and the PDP celebrate the defection of Rivers APC stalwarts.

0

Members of Rivers’ Peoples Democratic Party, led by Governor Nyesom Wike, are preparing to beat the drums in celebration of the defection of key members of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, into their fold.

Defecting APC members will be welcomed at a grand reception in Port Harcourt on Thursday, including Ogbonna Nwuke, who resigned as the party’s spokesperson last week for “personal reasons.”

Nwuke, a former member of the House of Representatives representing the Etche-Omuma constituency, has also served as Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications as well as Commerce and Industry.

Desmond Akawor, Rivers PDP Chairman, stated that Governor Wike will greet APC members at Isacc Boro Park tomorrow, Thursday, September 30th, 2021. Members of other parties who have recently declared their support for the PDP will also be welcomed at the event.

Chibudom Nwuche, former deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.Stephen Ezekwem, former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon.Emma Deeya, former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Alabo Charles Dokubo, Hon.Ngo Martins Yellowe, former Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, and Hon. Goodlife Mmekini are among those who will be formally welcomed into the APC fold.

The event invitation card is already making its rounds in Rivers.

Read also: Braking: Senate observes a minute of silence in memory of late Dr. Akunyili

Though he cited “personal reasons” in a statement as the reason for his resignation as Rivers APC spokesman, Nwuke has also been quoted as saying, “I was told that there is change in the APC, but I did not see any change.”

“My defection will benefit the Etche people. The only thing we have in APC is an aide to the NDDC Chairman and a member of the governing board of a college in the north.”
In addition, in an interview with our correspondent last week, Nwuke expressed his dissatisfaction with his role as APC spokesman.

He claimed that the party’s leadership did not support him in carrying out his duties.

Nwuke refrained from naming those he claimed caused him to leave the party.

Analysts, however, have placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Rotimi Amaechi, the state’s transportation minister and the party’s leader.

Amaechi is accused of running the party as a dictator and sole proprietor.

An APC insider told our correspondent that one of the immediate reasons for leaving the party was that Amaechi rejected his interest in running for the party’s chairmanship in the state during a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt about a week ago.

This is in addition to the unresolved conflict between Amaechi and former Senator Magnus Abe and his supporters over control of the APC Rivers chapter.

However, it will be another setback for Amaechi, whose party was barred from participating in the Rivers general election in 2019 due to a slew of court cases.

Several calls made to Nwuke on Wednesday were unsuccessful because his phone lines had been disconnected.

Breaking: El-rufai shut down Telecommunications in Kadun

0

Nasir El-rufai, the governor of Kaduna state, is planning to shut down telecommunications services in the state due to insecurity.

This is due to the state’s increasing insecurity. El-rufai told radio journalists in the state on Tuesday that the move was part of an offensive against bandits who were taking refuge and wreaking havoc in the state.

“The Military and other security agencies have advised us to shut down telecommunications services in certain LGAs, but we are waiting for the security agencies to tell us which specific areas and when.”

“However, I want the people of Kaduna State to understand that if they give us the green light tomorrow [Wednesday], we will shut down tomorrow.”

“There is no doubt that bandits and other criminals rely on telecommunication to communicate with informants and relatives of kidnapped victims in order to demand ransom,” he said.

He revealed that since the shutdown of telecoms services in neighboring Zamfara and Katsina states, bandits have been crossing into the state.

The governor also revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the directive.

Read also: FG Bans Over 2,000 Nigerians From Traveling in Connection With The COVID-19 Test

Breaking: Orji Uzor Kalu demolishes the EFCC, and the court orders a retrial

0

The Federal High Court has barred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from retrying Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia.

The order was issued by Justice Inyang Ekwo in a judgment on an application filed by the former governor seeking a court order prohibiting the EFCC from retrying him on a charge for which he had already been tried and convicted.

The judge said: “An order is hereby made prohibiting the Federal Government through the EFCC from retrying the applicant (Kalu) on charge no. FHC/ABJ/CR/56/2007, since there was no order in the judgment of the Supreme Court for the retrial of Kalu”.

Orji Kalu is the chief whip of the Nigerian Senate.

Braking: Senate observes a minute of silence in memory of late Dr. Akunyili

0

The Senate observed a minute’s silence on Wednesday in memory of late Dr. Chike Akunyili, who was assassinated by gunmen in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Tuesday.

The Senate resolution came after Senator Uche Ekwunife moved a Point of Order informing the Senate of the heinous act.

Ekwunife used Order 43 of the Senate Standing Rules to condemn the heinous murder of Dr Chike, the husband of late Professor Dora Akunyili, the ex-Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administrative Control (NAFDAC).

Ekwunife urged the Inspector General of Police to step up efforts to put an end to the threat posed by unknown gunmen in the South East region.

She also urged the Governors of the South East to do everything possible to protect lives and property in the region.

More information will be provided shortly…

FG Bans Over 2,000 Nigerians From Traveling in Connection With The COVID-19 Test

0

Over 2,000 Nigerians and foreigners have been banned from traveling abroad and into the country for a year by the Federal Government’s Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19.

This is for avoiding the country’s international airports’ coronavirus Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.

Mukhtar Muhammad, the Presidential Steering Committee’s (PSC) National Incident Manager (NIM), revealed this at a briefing in Abuja.

Read Also: Over 2,000 Nigerians barred from traveling abroad after failing to pass the COVID-19 test

Muhammad stated that the names of over 2,000 citizens and foreigners were pasted at all major federal medical facilities where medical experts were assigned to provide care to Nigerians and foreigners who entered the country during the COVID-19 third wave.

He claimed that the government had insisted that passengers arriving in the country, particularly from high-risk countries, be quarantined in a government-run facility, and that those who did not follow the protocol had their passports revoked for a year.

“We have included the provision of quarantine for passengers arriving from high-risk countries, and people who evaded these protocols have been penalized by their names being published and their passports being suspended for a year,” he said.

Read Also:  N20bn Bail Out Loan: Court set October 15 for hearing of EFCC suit against Kogi

“Let me assure you that we have published the names of more than 2,000 people who have evaded quarantine in our health facilities so far. And we’ve already taken steps to suspend their passports, so there are consequences for every action.”

According to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN), the PSC issued a Travel Advisory for Passengers Arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India, and Turkey on May 1, 2021.

According to the chairman, Boss Mustapha, the precautionary measures were necessary to reduce the risk of importation of concern variants and breaking the chain of transmission to the population.

Passengers arriving from/or visiting any of these three countries within fourteen (14) days of their visit to Nigeria were required to adhere to mandatory arrival quarantine and testing protocols in designated facilities under the measures.

Read Also:  NEDC and the exemplary ambiences of TheleadersNG’s award

However, according to various findings, many passengers failed to comply with the mandatory isolation or show up for the PCR repeat test on day seven.

Defaulters’ names and passport numbers had previously been made public by the PSC.